Belt driving apparatus, and image forming apparatus having belt driving apparatus

a driving apparatus and driving belt technology, applied in the direction of electrographic process apparatus, instruments, optics, etc., can solve the problems of unstable attitude and behavior, belts moving out of the preset range, and belts becoming damaged across their edges or edges, etc., to achieve stable recording medium conveyance

Inactive Publication Date: 2013-03-05
CANON KK
View PDF8 Cites 0 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The solution significantly reduces the distance change between the belts, enhancing the stability of recording medium conveyance and reducing the likelihood of belt misalignment and damage, resulting in improved image quality and reduced unsatisfactory prints.

Problems solved by technology

There are serious technical issues regarding fixing apparatuses of the belt-nip type, that is, fixing apparatuses which use an endless fixing belt and / or an endless pressing belt.
One of these technical issues is how to prevent the belts of a fixing apparatus of the belt-nip type from shifting (snaking) in a specific direction.
More specifically, if the belts shift in the direction perpendicular to their moving direction while they are driven, problems result sometimes such that the belts move out of their preset range, and / or that the belts become damaged across their edge or edges.
However, if a fixing apparatus of the belt-nip type is structured so that its fixing belt and pressing belt can be changed in attitude by changing the upstream roller for the fixing belt, in terms of recording medium conveyance direction, and the upstream roller for the pressing belt, to change in position one of the lengthwise ends of the upstream roller for the fixing belt, and the corresponding lengthwise end of the upstream roller for the pressing belt, it is possible that when a sheet of recording medium is conveyed through the fixing apparatus by the belts, it will become unstable in attitude and behavior.
The cause of this problem is that in a case of a fixing apparatus of the belt-nip type structured as described above, when the upstream fixation belt roller and upstream pressure belt roller are changed in attitude so that one of the lengthwise end of the upstream fixation belt roller and the corresponding lengthwise end of the upstream pressure belt roller come closer to each other, and when the upstream fixation belt roller and upstream pressure belt roller are changed in attitude so that one of the lengthwise end of the upstream fixation belt roller and the corresponding lengthwise end of the upstream pressure belt roller move away from each other, the amount by which the lengthwise ends are moved is rather large, and therefore, the amount by which the upstream fixation belt and upstream pressure belt are moved in the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the rollers to be corrected in their position is rather large, making it difficult for recording medium to remain stable in attitude and behavior while it is conveyed through the belt-nip.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Belt driving apparatus, and image forming apparatus having belt driving apparatus
  • Belt driving apparatus, and image forming apparatus having belt driving apparatus
  • Belt driving apparatus, and image forming apparatus having belt driving apparatus

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

embodiment 1

(1) General Description of Image Forming Apparatus

[0019]Hereafter, the first preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the appended drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention, the fixing apparatus of which is an image heating apparatus (device) in accordance with the present invention. It depicts the overall structure of the apparatus. The image forming apparatus depicted by FIG. 1 is an electrophotographic laser beam printer.

[0020]The image forming apparatus in the first embodiment can be roughly divided into an image forming portion 101 which forms a toner image on a sheet S (recording medium), and a fixing apparatus 111 (image heating apparatus) which fixes an unfixed toner image to the sheet S by heating and pressing the toner image. The image forming portion 101 has the following devices, which will be described next. They are an electrophotographic photos...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

A belt driving apparatus includes a first rotatable belt member; a first supporting member rotatably supporting the first belt member; a first steering roller, rotatably supporting the first belt member; a first controller for controlling movement of an end of the first steering roller; a second rotatable belt member contacted to the first belt member; a second supporting member rotatably supporting the second belt member; a second steering roller, rotatably supporting the second belt member; and a second controller for controlling movement of an end of the second steering roller.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART[0001]The present invention relates to a belt driving apparatus which is mountable in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copy machine, an electrophotographic printer, etc., to drive multiple (two) belts which are in contact with each other. It also relates to an image forming apparatus in which the above-described belt driving apparatus is mountable.[0002]There are various belt driving apparatuses which drive multiple (two) belts. One of such belt driving apparatuses is a fixing apparatus which is mounted in an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic copy machine and an electrophotographic printer. More specifically, it is a fixing apparatus of the so-called belt-nip type. A fixing apparatus of this type has an endless heating belt and an endless pressing belt. The endless pressing belt (which hereafter may be referred to simply as pressure belt) is placed in contact with the heating belt (which hereafter m...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
Patent Type & AuthorityPatents(United States)
IPC IPC(8): G03G15/20
CPCG03G15/2064G03G2215/00156G03G2215/00168G03G2215/2009G03G2215/2032
InventorCHIBA, TAKATOSHI
OwnerCANON KK